May 1915. After tragedy strikes during the Second Battle of Artois, Frenchman Julian Olivier will do anything to get out of the trenches. So when British Intelligence recruits him to spy behind enemy lines, he jumps at the opportunity. Just before he begins, however, he has a chance encounter with a young French woman who leaves his heart marked for the remainder of the war—even if he doesn’t … know her name.
Warren Flynn is a Canadian airborne hero, and dogfights with the Germans are all in a day’s work. Second only to his love of flying is his fascination with Claire Donovan, the daughter of an American munitions manufacturer living in Paris. Warren flies Julian into Germany and soon receives orders to post the Allies’ newest operative—an attractive peasant woman named Evette—in Claire’s home.
As a dangerous ring of spies and saboteurs threatens to turn the war against the Allies, Julian discovers goodness in his enemies’ hearts. But even if he survives, will he ever be reunited with the woman whose memory he can’t erase? Will Warren survive the war, and will Evette unearth the infiltrator in her own territory before it’s too late?
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Novels that take place during wars were not something I read before reading A.L. Soward’s book Defiance which takes place during WWII. Reading that book opened me up to enjoying books of that genre, if they’re well written, which hers are. She brings the stories to life with her writing and as a bonus, I learn a lot because of her meticulous research.
This one is set in WWI in France and Germany, and intertwines the lives of French soldier Julian Olivier, Canadian pilot Warren Flynn, and a Frenchwoman Evette Touny. Julian hates the war, especially war in the trenches, and after he’s injured and one of his friends is killed he accepts an offer to go undercover as a German in a household in Essen, Germany. Because his mother is German he speaks German and French.
While on his way back to his unit from convalescent leave (before he was recruited to be a spy in Germany), Julian meets Evette when she has an altercation with a soldier trying to take her horse while she’s moving her mother’s belongings. He helps her move her mothers things and realizes she’s being abused by someone. When she mentions saving money to “escape to Paris” Julian gives her money to help her. When he’s in Germany, he often wonders about her and if she ever made it to Paris.
Evette escapes her physically abusive half brother and is recruited to be a spy. She lives in a home belonging to an American munitions manufacturer living in Paris and his daughter Claire, who is the love interest of Warren Flynn. Warren Flynn flew Julian into Germany for his undercover assignment. You can now see how all of these characters lives intertwine, which makes for a wonderfully captivating story.
I loved the goodness of of the main characters. Julian was worried about losing his soul because of the things the war required him to do, and was able to see the good in the family he was living wiht in Germany while undercover. The ugly side of war is also shown but this characters showed that you can be a good person no matter the situation.
A.L. Sowards writes books that take me to other places and times. She makes me care about the characters and I’m saddened by their losses and worry for them when they get themselves into scary situations, such as Evette being determined to find out who the double agent/leak in the office was. I knew something was going to happen to her. I figured out who it was right before it was revealed and was kind of surprised. I liked that several characters get a happy end and I also liked that the book is written by mulitple points of view.
I appreciate that the author includes a map of the areas in which the story takes place and has a list of some of the common words and their definitions. I find it very helpful. If you’re a fan of historical fiction you should definitely check out books by this author.